Don't be drawn in

Dec 10 2009 Harrow Observer

THE coming together of so many religious leaders in the run-up to more demonstrations at Harrow Mosque shows the unity of our diverse community.

But while people will inevitably want to stand up for those they live with so harmoniously, the best thing to do is not to rise to the activists' bait and simply get on with their personal business on Sunday, ignore the attempts to divide Harrow and stay away.

The risks of going public

HARROW Council may have stressed that no decisions have been made about whether to outsource the management of services but neither has there been a guarantee that any particular service will still be publicly run.

Councillors are right to warn that the day-to-day control of the library service may come up for consideration. The fear is that the quality and breadth of the service could be diminished: Not only will the business that assumes command be looking at maximising its profits but the council will have to monitor customer service carefully - a sizeable and complex task.

People will have an eye on other council business that has been contracted out. Furthermore, it can be difficult to take services back in-house because either the staff have been transferred or the council has scrapped supporting functions in the meantime.

Harrow Council will have to provide convincing arguments not only for which services should be handled privately but how it will guard against any failings to ensure that residents get the services they are both used to and entitled to.